The West End/West Side neighborhood borders the Town of Fairfield and the Black Rock neighborhood. It is bisected by I-95 and upland from Cedar Creek, with views of Seaside Park. The neighborhood is largely medium-density residential (2-4 family homes), but also contains industrial uses, which are mainly concentrated south of Railroad Avenue in the western portion of the community. Commercial uses are located along Fairfi eld Avenue, State Street and Brooklawn Avenue. The neighborhood does not contain many significant parks or open space areas, with the exception of Went Field. Nearly 11 percent of the area is brownfields. West End/West Side contains part of the Stratfield and Division Street Historic Districts, as well as all of the Railroad Avenue and Bassickville Historic Districts.

In 2000, West End/West Side had 17,514 residents, the majority of whom were Hispanic (41%), followed by Black non-Hispanic (34%), White non-Hispanic (15%) and Asian (10%). Approximately 24 percent of the neighborhood’s residents were foreign-born. In 2000, West End/West Side had 5,898 housing units, over 90 percent of which were at least 20 years old. The neighborhood is predominantly renter-occupied, with renters accounting for 70% of the population. The neighborhood’s unemployment rate was 14 percent in 2000, and 27 percent of residents lived below the poverty level. Manufacturing jobs in West End/West Side represented over 21 percent of Bridgeport’s total, and employees in that sector earned more than the neighborhood’s average household income.